Cupid and Psyche 1706

Curator: This is Jan Claudius de Cock’s marble sculpture, "Cupid and Psyche," created around 1706. It resides here at the SMK, Statens Museum for Kunst. Editor: My immediate impression is one of intense struggle and perhaps bittersweet triumph. Psyche’s straining posture and Cupid's, well, let's say assertive placement suggest a complex power dynamic rendered exquisitely in cold marble. Curator: It captures a key moment from Apuleius’s *Metamorphoses,* where Psyche, after numerous trials, is finally united with her divine lover. Notice the physical burden she bears, which also speaks to the symbolic weight of love's challenges. Editor: Yes, there's such a theatrical tension achieved through the baroque sensibility—the dramatic, swirling drapery; the intense diagonal compositions, the implied movement all arrested in stone. I’m particularly struck by how De Cock uses the negative space created by their limbs to amplify the figures. Curator: Considering that the artist draws on both mythology and history-painting as source material for this piece, the embrace or resistance isn't merely physical but represents the soul’s arduous journey toward love and immortal bliss. Editor: Interesting that you mention "immortal bliss", as to my mind, the Cupid seems almost indifferent to the physical feat of his carrier. He is detached in facial expression. To me that suggests a deliberate rendering of godlike disinterest from a being being carried by, quite literally in this moment, mortal effort. Curator: But don't overlook Cupid's gaze, however ambiguous, aimed heavenward as if seeking justification or perhaps even demanding his due! Symbols, remember, are not always self-evident. Here the marble is both sensual and allegorical, engaging with our long history of how visual art encodes our human search for significance. Editor: Your comment invites contemplation of our symbolic legacy when expressed materially, however! I was at first captivated by what initially appeared to me a straightforward and obvious gesture of balance when it really reflects struggle and complex interplay that reflects our broader narratives as humans and as symbolic producers! Thank you. Curator: Thank you, reflecting on our engagement and understanding of symbols is an illuminating way to better consider visual legacies in this context!